The one who became Fire Lady
by Jordanalane
Summary: An honest conversation between Zuko and Sokka about their romantic past brings up long dormant feelings of love, loss, friendship, and betrayal. Cause rather Sokka likes it or not; his best friend married the love of his life. T for Language and Sexual situations. A Zuki story.
1. Chapter 1

_I've been tossing this idea around for a while and wanted to put it to "paper". It will be kinda on the short side and will include lots of flashbacks to what exactly happened between Sokka, Suki and Zuko. _

_This chapter is short but there will be more. _

* * *

"Your majesty, he is not answering the door. There is just a lot of yelling."

"Well did you try to break it down?" It occurred to Zuko that asking this small mousey assistant to break down the door would have been just like asking him to fly. He shook his head and looked at the door as they arrived at it. "Sokka?" He knocked on the door twice, then pulled his hand back waiting for a response.

Nothing.

"He has been like this for two days; since the announcement."

"And he's not left the room?" Zuko's hand went to the door knob, feeling the tension of the lock as he tried to open it. He just had to have a hinged wood door and not a sliding one like everyone else did.

He shook his head, "Not at all. I did not know he had that much alcohol."

Zuko pounded on the door again, with the side of his fist this time. "Open the damn door Sokka!"

Again, nothing.

Zuko turned around and took a few steps back and motioned for the assistant to move of of the way. One he had done so Zuko charged the door with one shoulder hitting just above the center of the door. The door jam gave way and the door popped open. Zuko stood up and looked into the living room of Sokka's apartment. What he saw made his face draw into as uncomfortable and awkward frown.

"You broke... My FUCKING door." Sokka was standing in the center of the room, totally naked, his hair down and in dirty clumps all around his head, a bottle of what Zuko assumed was very strong alcohol in his hands.

Zuko turned back to the assistant and motioned for him to leave, that he had this. He closed the door behind him, securing it the best that he could.

"Don't just think that you can come in here... and make me some tea and have everything be ok." Sokka yelled at him before taking another swig of his drink. "Cause that is not how it works!" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared daggers at Zuko.

Zuko said nothing as he walked over to the sofa on the far side of the room, finding a pair of Sokka's pants. He went to Sokka who was muttering something about Ember Island and threw the pants over his shoulder before taking his drink.

"Thats mine!"

"You're going to kill yourself." Zuko walked into the kitchen of his apartment and smelled the liquid in the bottle. He guessed from the way that it made his hair follicles hurt that the stuff was strong. He sat it in the cabinet that the other liquor was kept, nothing that Sokka was almost out.

The kitchen was a mess, like the rest of the place. It was apparent that he had been living in these confined quarters for a few days. It stunk of smoke, sweat, and booze. It reminded him a seedy bar that Sokka had dragged him to once. He knew that Sokka, who was talking to himself about something in the living room, needed to eat. He put a kettle of water on the stove to heat up before scrounging around the kitchen for food. He found some bread and sliced meat and figured that it would be enough. He threw these onto a plate just as the water was boiling. He found to mugs and filled them with the water. He reached into one of his pouches and pulled out the small brown bag that continued his emergency tea supply. He smiled to himself as he put the small tea bags into the cups, amused at just how handy this ration had become over the past few years. He gathered both the cups into his hand, the plate in the other and walked into the living room.

Sokka was clothed in the pants he had been provided, and was sitting on the sofa with another bottle of something or other in his hands. Zuko cursed under his breath as he sat the cups and plate down on the side table, then took the bottom from Sokka. "You need to quit drinking." He sat the bottle down and then gave Sokka the plate of food and cup of tea.

"I told you that tea will not help."

"And your right, it will not." He sat down in the chair next to the sofa, taking his cup of tea in his hand. "However we need to talk about this."

"There is nothing to talk about." Sokka snarled, eating some of the bread.

"Actually there is."

"So talk about what you think we should talk about." Sokka sipped his tea and felt a little bit of pleasure at the taste of something that was not alcohol in his tongue. He looked over at his friend the Fire Lord. It made him cringe a little bit to admit that he was in fact quite handsome. Even his one imperfection, the scar on the one side of his face, gave him a mysterious and alluring quality. He always felt like crying when he looked at him; knowing that he had lost the love of his life to this handsome and powerful fire bender.

Zuko sighed, looking over at Sokka. He still had nothing but respect for the tall Water Tribe man and thought of him as one of his best friends. It is what made this situation worse, but one that needed to be addressed none the less. Things were about to change after all and Zuko could not live with this cloud that hung over them any longer. He spoke in a firm but soft voice for maximum impact. "I'd like to talk about the fact that you are still in love with my wife."


	2. Chapter 2

_So a bit of "How to read this story" instructions. The _**bold**_is flash backs. The flash backs are not in order, but fit into this story and the conversation that Zuko and Sokka are having. I'm trying to write clues into each flashback as to the time frame that the event takes place; but they may not come across like that. I'm not really sure. Some feedback would be cool (Just so I know that I'm accurately communicating the ideas.) _

* * *

Sokka looked at Zuko with his mouth agape, his plate and cup in hand. Zuko said nothing but just looked over as Sokka, his hot cup of tea in his. Sokka was not sure what to say or do in this moment.

"W... What makes you think that?" Sokka shifted uncomfortably in his seat, eating some of the meat. The tea was strong, there was something about it that killed the buzz he was feeling from the alcohol. He shook his head in a silent thanks; this was one conversation that he did not want to have while inebriated.

"I'm not stupid, Sokka." Zuko took a drink of his tea, his eyes narrowing at Sokka.

"I never said you were stupid." Sokka rolled his eyed, stuffing some of the sliced meat into his mouth.

Zuko just looked over at Sokka, his lips pressed together as one of his fingers traveled over the rim of his cup.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Sokka snapped, eating the last of his bread.

"I just want you to be honest with me; its the only way we will be able to get past this."

"There is nothing to get past." He threw his place onto the side table, "You're wrong. I'm not in love with her."

"I see the way you look at her. I see how you look at us when we are together. I know that you still love her." Zuko sat his cup on the table, leaning forward in the seat with his elbows on his knees. "I've never said anything about it though, out of respect for you."

"Respect?" Sokka locked his hands behind his head, leaning back a little bit.

"Yes, respect." Zuko intertwined his fingers in front of him, looking at the pattern that his fingers made. "I know that you and her had a serious past and I knew that you would likely always feel something for her."

Sokka looked up at the ceiling, his face getting hot with rage. He figured that Zuko had clued into it though. It was not exactly subtle.

**"Sokka, how good of you to come!" Suki wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a soft hug, "We were worried you would not be able to." **

**"I would not miss it for the world. I mean you only get one engagement party, right?" He blushed a little bit, thinking for a moment how beautiful she looked. She had grown her hair out which was now down around her middle back, the auburn locks moving as she did. She was in a fine silk dress that was green with red accents, a perfect representation of her new life. He wondered for a moment if she would have dressed in blue had it been their engagement being celebrated tonight. **

**He leaned in and kissed her forehead tenderly, making her laugh softly. "Sokka..." She pulled away from him, her hands on his upper arms. **

**"I was just thinking about how pretty you looked." **

**She laughed and reached out, patting his cheek. "You look good yourself." She pulled on his beard gently before pulling away from him. She looked to the open door and smiled wide at the person she saw. **

**"I was wondering ware you got off to." Zuko smiled at his new fiancé, then at Sokka. "Thanks for coming, Sokka." **

**Suki ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning up and kissing him quickly. **

**Sokka blinked slowly when he saw the affection between the two, feeling a twinge of pain in his stomach as their lips made contact. He placed himself into the situation, that it was him kissing Suki, feeling their lips pressed to one another's again. **

**When she pulled away from Zuko they both looked over at Sokka, "Come on." She said, motioning him towards them. "We're missing the party." **

**"We are." Sokka walked to them, nudging himself in between them and putting an arms around each of their shoulders and they walked into the ballroom at the palace. "I shall be your escort." He smiled to himself, walking his ex-girlfriend and best friend into their engagement party. **

"I never said anything you know." Zuko shook his head. "Even when I saw that stuff I never even really give it a second thought. I was confident in what her and I had, and I knew she would never leave me."

Sokka huffed in annoyance, looking over at him. "Fucking figures."

"What?"

Sokka laughed, letting his arms fall to his side. "You are so fucking confident."

Zuko said nothing, but just looked at Sokka. He wanted to get Sokka to talk openly about this after all.

"You..." He shook his head. "Have been better than me in every way since day FUCKING one." He stood up from the sofa, pulling on his own hair lightly. "You're in better shape, a better fighter, a better leader, better looking, smarter, you even have a bigger cock; don't try to deny it."

"I wasn't going to." Zuko felt awkward and could feel his ears turning red.

"Not to mention that you are the mother fucking Fire Lord. You are one of the most powerful men on earth and could have easily gotten anyone You could have had any, ANY woman in the world you wanted AND YOU TOOK MINE!" He was facing Zuko, yelling at him with his face red, his blue eyes large.

Zuko said nothing, but just looked up at Sokka with unmoving eyes.

"I was gonna marry her." Sokka had tears in his eyes as he looked down at Zuko. "It was going to be me and her. We were gonna have a family and a house and everything that I always wanted." Sokka was panting now, his face getting redder. "BUT YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!"

Zuko sat back in the chair, putting his intertwined fingers at his lips. He felt his own face getting red from being confronted like this. He wanted to correct Sokka, to remind of him what exactly had happened; that he had seen it coming and did nothing. He knew that this was not the time though.

**"Suki?" **

**"SOKKA! I did not even see you there!" Suki ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek.**

**He smiled and hugged her back, flaring his nostrils as he took in her scent. She always smelled so good. He could never tell if it was the face paint that she used or if her natural oils did it. **

**"I wanted to ask you something." **

**She pulled away, looking at him eagerly, "Yeah?" **

**"The other day, when You, Toph and I were in the tank trying to stop Zuko's army..." **

**"Yeah, what about it?" He could see a soft flush on her cheeks though the white paint that covered it. **

**"You seemed really worried about Zuko..." **

**She laughed a little bit, "Well Yeah." She crossed her arms over her chest, "I am worried about him. You guys don't see how stressed out he is like I do." **

**"Yeah, but..." **

**"And Mai left him, did you know that? I mean she was really the only person who could even him out and she just leaves because of something dumb." The look on her face was a bit more annoyed that he would have liked for it to have been. "And he is so lonesome and I know that he just needs friends right now." **

**"Yeah..." Sokka sighed and looked down. "I guess so." **

**"The other warriors are going back to Kyoshi Island but I opted to stay behind with him. I don't want to leave him alone right now. I feel like my place is beside him." **

**"Beside him?" His ears perked up in alarm. **

**She nodded, smiling a little bit as she looked away with dreamy eyes. "Yeah. I feel like I'm really part of something when I'm with him." **

**Sokka nodded slowly. "I think that you should do what you feel is best then." **

**She laughed happily and hugged him again, "Thank you so much for understanding!" **

"It was going to be me and her, forever." Sokka was sitting back down on the sofa, holding his head as he spoke. "Fan and sword, just the two of us."

Zuko stood up and took both his and Sokka's dishes, taking them into the kitchen. He silently washed them out, setting them back into the cabinet without bothering to dry them. He sighed to himself, thinking that the situation was a bit more muddled than he had first thought. He half wished he'd just kept his mouth shut about it.

**Sokka and Zuko sat on the sofa next to one another, Suki sitting in the chair that was in front of them. Zuko was the only one of the three with dry eyes. Suki was fairing the worst, much to his own discount. She had just now managed to stop her sobbing and was able to talk again without gasping for breath. **

**She had let it all out; the truth about the conflict that hung over the three of them. She had said how much she loved the both of them, and wished that she could have them both or some how make them into one perfect, amazing man. The world did not work like that though and she had to choose, but was not sure how or even who to choose. It was all pulling at her, tearing her apart. **

**They now sat in silence, none of them knowing exactly what to saw or who to look to. It was Zuko who took charge of the situation; as he usually did. He coughed and stood up, both Sokka and Suki following him. **

**"Listen." He started, scratching the back of his head, his shoulder length hair flowing though his finger tips. "You know how we both feel; about you and everything else." **

**Suki nodded in agreement. **

**"So... you need to make a choice on the matter. You have never been afraid to make a choice your entire life, and I don't think that this should be any different." **

**"This isn't simple, Zuko." **

**"I did not claim that it was. I can not even image making the choice that you have to. Unfortunately it needs to be made." **

**"And we will both support the choice you make." Sokka looked at Zuko for confirmation, which the Fire Lord gave with a nod. "We both love you Suki, and want you to be happy, even if the result is one of us getting hurt." **

**Zuko nodded again, looking over Suki with sad eyes. He hated seeing her like this: tears in her eyes, her hair messed up, her face puffy and dry from crying. He wanted more than anything to hold her and tell her it was going to be alright. To comb her hair and give her some tea so that she would feel better. **

**"I just don't want to hurt either of you." **

**"How about this..." Sokka crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the ground. "We will both leave you here, and you can make the choice that you feel is best. When you make the choice you can come to the bedroom of the one you choose. The one who is not visited tonight will hold no resentment, no hard feelings of any kind towards you or the other. Sound about right?" He looked to both Suki and Zuko as he spoke. **

**Zuko's eye brow raised, looking at Sokka and the brilliance of his plan. It really was a good idea and the best way to go. He nodded, looking at Sokka and then at Suki, "I'm ok with that." **

**"And you both will stay friends, no matter what?" **

**"We will, but you don't worry about that." **

**Zuko nodded in agreement. "That is on us." **

**She just nodded and sighed lightly. She leaned in and kissed Zuko, then Sokka each on the cheek. They both smiled at her and left the room, glancing at one another for a moment before walking their separate ways; Zuko to his own bedroom, Sokka to the guest room he always stayed in in the palace. **

**Zuko walked into his room with a sigh, taking off the deep red tunic that covered his upper body. "You know for a second there I thought you were going to go with him." **

**He leaned towards his bed side table and lit the oil lamp that was there with his fingers tips, lighting the room and the figure that was on the bed. **

**Suki was sitting on her knees on the bed, her simple green dress covering her legs, a blank look on her face, "I don't know if I should be insulted or flattered by your confidence." **

**"That has got nothing to do with that." He laid on the bed next to her, propping himself up by his elbows and looking over and up at her. "If you wanted to be with him you just would have been with him. You would not have been unsure about it." **

**She looked down at him, seeing his dark locks around his beautiful pale face. She did not even see the scar anymore; she only saw him, the man that she would going to send the rest of her life with. "Is that really your position on the matter?" She gave him a half smile. **

**He nodded, "Your confusion was not on who to choose, but on how to make the choice without breaking his heart." **

**"How do you know that I was not struggling with how to break your heart?" **

**He looked away with a half shrug, "Cause you know me, and know that I could take the news no matter how much it would hurt. If you wanted to be with him you would have just ended it with me long before this." **

**She sighed a little bit and laid down on the bed next to him, scooting close to him and putting her cheek on his shoulder. "You know you are not as infrangible as you think you are." **

**"Yes I am, well to you I am anyways." He smiled ever so lightly, making her laugh a little more. He pushed her down to the bed gently, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. **

**"You are a wonderful man, Zuko." He laid on his side and looked down at her as she ran her finger tips over his cheek. His lips curled into an uncharastically large smile as he studied her face, the face of his Fire Lady. "However it freaks me out when you smile like that." She slapped his cheek playfully. **

**He laughed softly and leaned down pressing their lips together, trying to convey as much love and affection as he possibly could. She moaned happily as she wrapped her arms around him, embracing the kiss in the bed that was now theirs. **

**Sokka did not sleep that night. He wanted to be awake when she came to him, his arms open and ready for her like they always had been. He ran over the things that he would say to her, what he would tell her once she was with him for good, when things were as they should be. **

**He paced the night away, thinking about how Zuko would take the choice, if he would be able to follow up with their agreement or not. He shrugged it off, thinking that he would be alright and would just marry someone else. After all there was not shortage of women who would jump at the chance to marry him, being Fire Lord and all. The entire idea about having her come to them was just a way for him not to he hurt; for him not to be face to face with his rejection, he had had so much of that in his life. **

**He knew that he would have Suki for his own though, and that was all that really mattered to him. **

**As the night rolled on it became more and more apparent that this was not the case though. With each passing hour his heart dropped more and more. He kept telling himself that that she was just thinking, just reviewing the options but that she would come to the right choice sooner or later. **

**It was only after the first specks of light danced across the horizon that he knew. He knew that she was gone; that he had lost her. He had refused to believe it for so long. Yet it was there; blinding him like the sun itself. He was scared and angry, but mostly he just felt extreme loneliness crushing him. **

**He stood at the balcony door with tears in his eyes as he watched the sunrise. His mind could not help but flash to the fact that not far from his location they were watching the same sunrise. Thats how it was going to be from now on; the three of them doing the same thing. The only difference is that she would be in Zuko's arms and not his. **


	3. Chapter 3

Zuko clicked his tongue in annoyance as he filled the kitchen sink with hot water, putting the dishes in there. It had been a while since he had done housework like this, but figured that he would be able to figure it out as he went along. He dunked his hands into the water and started on his task, the wet dishes slipping away from him more easily than he thought they would. He figured that if he could clean up a little bit that the home would regain a sense of normalcy. He was not really sure how to help Sokka right now and just figured that this would be a good start.

Sokka walked to the door way of the kitchen, leaning against the door frame on his back, looking over at Zuko. "Its not every day that the Fire Lord does your dishes." His voice was low and quiet.

"Well..." Zuko looked up at the wall in front of him, "Extenuating circumstances can sometimes make people do things they would not usually do."

"Story of our fucking lives." Sokka laughed to himself. "Sokka and Zuko: Adventures in Circumstances."

"I'd read it." Zuko smiled a little bit.

"I don't think anyone else would." Sokka slid to the floor, looking at the ground with his legs stretched out in front of him.

"Why do you say that?" He pulled some plates out of the water, putting them on the towel he had laid out for them to drip dry.

"Why would they read about me: a single, childless, non-bending, drunk?"

"Who just so happens to be a good friend of the Avatar, brother to the great Katara, Councilman and all around brave and amazing man. Not to mention the fact that you helped end the 100 year war, which by itself is a pretty big feat."

Sokka looked over at him, his eye brows furrowing. "You mean that?"

Zuko looked over at him, "I do."

Sokka leaned his head back onto the door frame closing his eyes. "You're still the better man." He mumbled.

"Neither of us is better than the other, we are just different." Zuko put some of the cups he washed onto the towel, glancing over at Sokka.

Sokka glared at Zuko, frowning heavily. It was so like Zuko to think something to noble as that. He was so god damned amazing it made Sokka want to punch him right in the jaw.

"Do you really think that I stole her from you?" Zuko dried his hands off with a towel, then threw it over the drying dishes.

"Yeah." Sokka mumbled before shaking his head and looking down, "No I don't."

"Well I can tell you are angry about it still, even after all this time." Zuko sat in the door way with Sokka, his back against the side of the door opposite him. He stretched his legs out so that they were next to Sokka's but not touching them. He looked as him with a soft frown, studying the tan man's sad face. "I miss the way the three of us used to be."

"When she was with me, and you were just her best friend." Sokka frowned heavily.

**"You're scared." **

**"Am not." **

**"Yep, he's scared." **

**"SHUT UP!" Sokka snapped at Suki and Zuko as they laughed at him. He stared at the large spider that was in the corner of the room. "I can do this." He was mostly talking to himself now. **

**"Don't let it bite you." Zuko teased. **

**"YOU CAN DO IT THEN!" He screamed, throwing up his hands and walking away from the spider. **

**"Fuck no, I'm scared of spiders." **

**"Then why are you making fun of me?" **

**"Cause you won't admit it." Zuko nudged him playfully as Suki walked over to the spider. She leaned down and held her hand out for it. She ushered it onto her open hand with her free one, it crawling onto her palm. **

**They both watched her intently as she stood up and walked towards the window next to them. When she was a feet away from them she jumped at them with a little scream, her hand extended out. **

**Zuko backed up quickly with a shiver and frown on his face. Sokka screamed a high pitch yelp and grabbed onto Zuko's arm in terror. **

**Suki laughed hysterically as she took the spider to the window and let it climb onto the leaves of a bush outside. **

**"Is it gone?" Sokka was now behind Zuko, clinging to his upper arms and peeking over his shoulder. **

**Suki looked back at them and laughed more, "You screamed like a girl." **

**Sokka pulled away from Zuko and crossed his arms over his chest, "Did not! That was Zuko." **

**"Hey! Don't put that on me." **

**She giggled and walked to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It was you Sokka. Its ok though; was kinda cute." She smiled at them then looked at Zuko who was looking at her with his usual soft smile. "Come on boys, lets go get something to eat." **

**"Yes! Food!" Sokka held a clenched fist up in joy. **

**Suki grabbed Sokka's hand and pulled him towards the door. As he was being pulled away he reached out and grabbed Zuko by the wrist, pulling him along with them. Zuko groaned but then smiled as he was pulled out of the room. **

"Why did things change?" Sokka asked under his breath softly.

"Well things got complicated."

"I suppose that is a nice way to put it. I would call it fucking crazy, but I guess complicated works too."

**"Come on!" Zuko ran down the alley in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, motioning for Suki and Sokka to follow him. **

**"Where are we going?" Sokka called out to Zuko as they ran. **

**Suki was just laughing as she ran right behind Zuko, her hand in his. **

**He lead them to the end of the alley and to a clearing in the buildings that was bathed in a warm glow. He smiled to himself, happy that they were lit this time. He stood at the edge of the clearing, looking at the way the light danced across the surface of the water in the Firelight Fountain. **

**Suki stood next to him with a smile on her face as she held his hand. "Its prettier than you described it."**

**Sokka stood next to Suki and looked around, his mouth agape a little bit. He reached out and took Suki's hand, making her blush. "How did you know about this place?" He asked, looking over at Zuko. **

**"I went on a date here once." **

**Sokka laughed a little bit, "You went on a date?" His voice was a little more mean than he expected it to be. **

**Suki could see the unscarred side of Zuko's face flush over, his teeth nibbling on his lower lip. "He did." She finally said, turning to Sokka. "Her name was Jin." She squeezed Zuko's hand in silent comfort and support. She really wanted to kiss him as they stood here in place that was his first kiss; adding the her own imprint to his memories of this beautiful location. She promised herself that she would one day, just not today. **

**She was still Sokka's girlfriend. For now anyways. **

**None of them said anything for a little while as they stood there holding hands and watching the lanterns around the fountain. It was Suki who finally broke the silence, squeezing both of their hands tight as she finally told them the truth about that which weighed on her mind. "Sokka." She took a deep breath as he looked at her. "Zuko is in love with me." **

**Zuko's eyes opened wide, his mouth dropping a little bit as he froze, his head pounding with fear. He had told her a few days ago in a moment of foolishness, but then demanded that she forget that he had ever said anything. **

**Sokka's eyes darted to Zuko with a frown and a face that was red with anger, embarrassment and hurt. **

**"And I'm in love with him." She added, her head turning to Zuko. **

**They both looked at her in shock, "Really?" They both spoke at the same time; Sokka with a frown and Zuko with a wide smile. **

**Suki looked forward at the fountain, nodding a little bit. She closed her eyes, knowing that there was no going back now. **

"Complicated is a good way to describe it." Zuko bit his thumb nail, his head leaning forward.

Sokka pounded his fist onto the ground a few times, clenching his eyes in annoyance. "What I never understood..." He opened his eyes and held his hand out in front of him, his fingers bent in an odd way, a frown heavy on his face. "Is why you didn't tell me that you were in love with her. I mean you could have come to me at anytime and told me about your feelings and we could have dealt with it."

"Cause I figured that what I felt for her was pointless." He shrugged a little bit, looking over at Sokka. "I was a guy who had a crush on his best friend who also happened to be his other best friend's girlfriend. You can understand why I would wanna keep that kinda thing under wraps."

"You still should have fucking told me."

"What would that have accomplished?"

"I don't know!" He pressed his hands to his eyes. "It just would have made what happened easier to stomach."

"I had absolutely no way to know that she was feeling the same thing about me at the time or that she was even thinking about being with me over you." He crossed his arms over his chest. "She was your girl and I did not want to take her from you so I ignored it. I ignored what I felt for her, even though it was all that I thought about. I was perfectly content with keeping my feeling to myself to save the both of you from feeling anything that would hurt you. I cared about your happiness over mine."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That..." He took a deep breath "I was content with loving her from afar as long as it kept either of you from getting hurt. However once I found out that she felt for me what I did for her all bets were off." He looked at Sokka, "And I'm sorry that you had to get caught in the crossfire."

Sokka looked over at him with sadness, feeling a tad selfish that he had never thought about Zuko's position during this time. Zuko had loved her but chosen to ignore it for the sake of both of them. He truly was an honorable man. "I really wanna punch you in the face sometimes."

"Well if you're gonna do it thats fine, just place make sure its done in my bad eye."

"Noted." He smiled softly at his friend.

Zuko sighed and stood up.

**Suki was sitting on Zuko's lap, her hands on his neck and their lips intertwined in an intense and passionate kiss. His hands were on her lower back, pulling her as close to him as possible. She was grinding herself against him in hopes to incite and excite him. She knew what she wanted from him and would do anything to get it. **

**She felt his excitement finally and made her move, reaching down in between them. As soon as her fingers made contact with him he pulled away, breaking the kiss, "No." He said firmly. **

**"What?" She leaned in, trying to get their lips to meet again. **

**"No." He reached down and grabbed her writs, pulling them away as he moved his face away from her lips. **

**"Why not?" Her already flushed over face went a deeper red from feeling rejected. **

**"We can't do that, we should not even be doing this."**

**She sighed a little bit, looking away. "I know." **

**He held her face and kissed her forehead. "I want to, but I don't want you share you." **

**She pulled away, her eyes looking at him in anger, "Share? What do you think I am, some kinda of whore?" **

**He looked at her with large eyes, his face flushing over. "Wh-? NO!" **

**She kept looking at him, "Then what you are you saying?" **

**He sighed, brushing some hair out of her face, "I only want to be with you if I'm the only one with you." He groaned to himself a little bit, know that he had only made it worse. **

**She sighed and stood up, crossing her arms over her chest that was covered in a simple tank top, "Its not like I'm sleeping with the both of you." She grabbed her long robe, pulling it on herself. **

**"I know that... I just don't want to..." He was standing now, reaching out for her. **

**"What? Sleep with me?" **

**"No I don't." He made a snarling motion with his lips, his hand going to his forehead. She looking at him with her head cocked to the side and forward, her lips sticking out. "Listen... I just want us to be exclusive." **

**She nodded and reached out for him, pulling his hand away from his face. **

**"I don't feel comfortable being with you when I know that you are not all mine." **

**"I am your's Zuko." She laid her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. **

**"But you're his too." He whispered. **

**Neither of them said anything as they held one another, feeling the warmth of their bodies. She licked her lips that were dry from kissing him, his heart beating in his body under her cheek. He pressed his closed lips to the top of her hear in silent support. He smiled as he ran his fingers though her soft hair. **

**She finally pulled away and looked up at him, "I'm sorry that things are so messed up right now."**

**He held her cheek softly, his thumb wiping away a lone tear that trailed down her cheek. "Its ok." He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose, making her smile. "But Suki you do need to make a choice, I can't be with you unless I can have all of you." **


	4. Chapter 4

Zuko started to mindlessly clean the living room, humming to himself. He thought about Suki and how much he wished he was with her. Things had changed recently for the royal couple, making them reevaluate their priorities. They had agreed to relinquish some of their responsibilities to others so they could spend more time together. It had been so nice the past few months being around one another more and it made Zuko miss her when they were apart. He closed his eyes and thought about kissing her skin, s small wave of pleasure rolling though him.

"I'd like to talk about something." Sokka looked over at Zuko, still sitting in the door way with his open hands in his lap.

"What is that?" Zuko was pulled out of his day dream, looking back at Sokka.

"Why did she choose you over me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well... There was a point in time that she had to choose between the two of us and she choose you. I was wondering if you knew why."

Zuko bit the inside of his lip, looking at a full ash tray that was of the table. "I don't know if we should talk about this, Sokka."

"Why is that?"

"I know why she choose me, and its a hard topic to talk about because it touched on some very sensitive points."

Sokka stood up from his spot, stumbling a little bit as he did so walking towards him, "Sensitive for you or me?"

"You."

Sokka reached down on the table and took two of the long brown cigarettes out of the tin that was sitting there. He offered them both to Zuko, "If its that hard then you will need one of these."

"Smoking is gross." He took them anyways. He put them both into his mouth and lit them by generating a small amount of fire on the tip of his thumb. He left one in his mouth and took the other out, handing it to Sokka. They both stood around the table, taking a few long drags. He frowned to himself thinking how Suki would react when she smelled and tasted the smoke on him later.

They both eventually sat down at the table with one another, knocking ash off the end and into the ash trey. "So talk." Sokka told him, smoke flowing from him lips.

"Suki always hated it how you were so overly protective. She viewed it as a lack of respect."

"I never meant it like that." Sokka frowned, scratching his head.

"I know you did not, but you were."

"What overly protective or disrespectful?"

"Both." Zuko put his cigarette out, glancing up at Sokka. "But I understand why you are like that, so never once did I fault you for it."

"Why am I like that then?" Sokka was becoming agitated, "And what makes you so much better when it comes to respecting woman?"

"Its because of our mothers." Zuko looked away from him, biting his lip a little bit.

Sokka's eyes flashed over in anger, his lips pressing into a thin line.

"Let me explain." Zuko rubbed his knuckles a little bit, his hands strong hands holding one another. "A man's view of women will be massively effected by his view of his own mother. We are both prime examples of that."

"So what is my view on woman due to my fucking mother?"

"Well... Your mother died, because she was not strong enough to protect herself." Zuko knew as soon as he said this that the topic should have never even been talked about.

Sokka stood up quickly and leaned across the able, grabbing Zuko's by his shirt and leaning close into him. "I'm sorry that my mother was MURDERED BY FIRE NATION! She had no way to protect herself, she was powerless and innocent and they TOOK HER FROM US!"

"My point exactly!" Zuko put his hands on Sokka's trying to pull him away. "Your mother died because she was powerless, because the only way she could save your sister was to use her own life to do so."

Sokka frowned heavily, his nostrils flaring as he looked into Zuko's golden eyes.

"Your entire life you have been aware of the weakness of women and you have feared it. Couple that with the fact that you lost your first girlfriend in a traumatic fashion is it really any wonder that you don't trust woman to take care of themselves?"

"You leave Yue out of this." Sokka growled lowly.

"Its true though! You don't trust woman to take care of themselves; every time you have she has left you."

Sokka blinked away tears in his eyes, drawing a hand back and moving to punch Zuko in his right eye. Zuko saw the movement and moved his hand up in time, his open palm taking Sokka's fist into it.

Sokka started at him silently, his body shaking. If figured that even in that moment when he wanted more than anything to make Zuko hurt, to make him suffer that he was not able to, that Zuko was still stronger and better than he. Sokka looked down, pulling away from him and sitting back down. Neither of them said anything as Sokka laid his head down onto the table, his hands covering himself as he started to sob.

Zuko reached out and grabbed onto Sokka's wrist, this thumb grazing his arm in comfort. Sokka continued to sob into the table, his chest heaving as he did so. He knew that Zuko was right, which is why it made it hurt so much more.

After a little bit Zuko let go of him and stood up, going into the kitchen, presumedly to make more tea for the both of them.

Sokka sat up after crying for a little while, holding his head and feeling his head pound with pain.

**"Sokka, I can do it." Suki put her hands on her green clad hips, looking at him with with an annoyed frown.**

**"I know you can, but I just wanna make sure that its done right."**

**"So you don't think I can do it right?"**

**"Its not that, I just want to make sure that its right, I mean done incorrectly it could come undone and you could get hurt." He looked up at Suki and a smile, only to be meet with and angry frown. "What?"**

**She just rolled her eyes and looked away.**

**"What are you doing?" Zuko called out to them as his tall brown boots made contact with the dock, looking out at Sokka who was trying the war balloon off, Suki in her Kyoshi uniform looking annoyed next to him.**

**"Just taking care of this." Sokka stood up and smiled at him. As he did so the rope came undone, it sliding away from the post like a snake. The balloon started to rise, having no longer being tied down.**

**Suki saw the rope pulling away and jumped up, grabbing the end of the rope and holding into it tight. The balloon was rising quickly, pulling her and the rope up with it. Before Sokka even knew what was going on Zuko ran to her, grabbing onto the rope himself. Sokka turned around and grabbed onto it as well. The three of them, together, pulled the war balloon in. As soon as there was enough slack in the rope Suki tied it off with a firm and secure knot.**

**"Need me to do it?" Sokka asked back to her.**

**"She's got it." Zuko mumbled.**

**She did have it. As soon as the knot was tied she stood up, telling them that it was tied. Sokka and Zuko let go and the knot held, holding the balloon in place.**

**Right away Sokka went to the knot she had just made, making sure that it was strong enough to hold. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking over as Zuko with her painted red lips in a pouting frown. He just smiled softly at her and shrugged.**

Zuko sat the cup of tea down next to Sokka, pulling him out of his thoughts. He mumbled a thanks, taking it into his hands. He sat back across from him, taking a sip of his own tea.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Zuko looked at him from across the table.

"Your view of woman."

Zuko nodded, sitting his tear back down onto the table. "Well I respect a woman's strength because of my mother. She killed in order to protect me, so I not only was aware of the power of a woman, but loved and respected it."

"Its kinda a mirror of my story."

Zuko nodded, "Very much. Both of our mothers showed incredible courage and resolve in what they did; your mother in protecting your sister and mine in protecting me. I respect the power of a woman cause my mother killed, you fear the weakness of a woman cause your mother died."

Sokka stared at him, his mouth open a little bit. "You've really thought about this, haven't you?"

Zuko nodded, "I have. Suki is the one who came up with all that though."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it was all her, we talked about it a lot." He looked down at his tea, "I also think it has something to do with our sisters."

"Our sisters?"

"You had a younger sister that you always protected and kept safe; even at the risk of your own life. I on the other hand had a sister that kicked my ass on a daily basis."

Sokka smiled a little bit, taking a sip of his tea and looking at Zuko. Zuko had his eyes down, neither of them saying anything for a little while.

"You are very good to her." Sokka finally mumbled, "It was something that I always grateful for."

"Thanks, I guess." He frowned a little bit, running his fingers tips over the warm ceramic cup, "It was never a question on if I should be good to her or not I just was."

"Which is part of what makes you a great guy, Zuko."

"So you would not have been good to her?" Zuko was confused about Sokka's line of thought on this.

"I would have been, but your right; I did not respect her, not like you do." Zuko sat with a fist under his chin, looking over at Sokka as he spoke. "You not only respect her, but you treat her as your equal. The all powerful fire lord a subservient to a peasant girl."

Zuko swallowed hard, shaking his head. "I never gave a shit about that."

"I know, which is why you are a good man." Sokka laughed to himself. "I'm sorry I tried to hit you."

"Its fine. I kinda figured that you would try to." Zuko took a drink of his tea, glancing down. "I've always appreciated how accepting you were."

"About your relationship?"

Zuko nodded, "Very much so. I mean when we made the agreement that neither of us would hold any kind of a grudge, I was skeptical if you could do it."

**Sokka stood in the garden at the palace, looking at the small pond before him with his hands in his pockets. He bit the inside of his mouth, thinking about last night's events, about the fact that it was no longer Suki and Sokka, but Suki and Zuko. He closed his eyes, trying to fight back tears.**

**"Sokka?"**

**He did not need to turn around to see who it was that was calling his name. It was the woman that twenty four hours ago would have sent a shock of excitement and joy though him. Now it was the last person on earth that he wanted to see.**

**She walked to him and put a hand on his shoulder, standing next to him. He had his eyes closed and was looking down. Her hand traveled to his upper arm, squeezing it gently. She said his name again, speaking softer this time.**

**"Listen." He turned to her, feeling so much pain in seeing her beautiful eyes. He wanted so much to hug her like he always did, to kiss her and tell her that he loved her. He could not tell what hurt him worse; not being able to do it now, or knowing that he would never be able to do it again. He took a deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts and stop himself from crying. "I want you to know that I have every intention of following though with the agreement we made last night." It was then that he saw Zuko standing a few feet away from them, watching them with a blank look on his face. He turned to Zuko and spoke "I will hold no resentments." He turned to Suki, a tear cutting its way down his cheek. "To either of you."**

**Suki leaned in and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. He hugged her back, his arms going around her waist returning the embrace. It was not as tender of an embrace that he would usually give her, stopping just short of his true level of affection.**

**He pulled away after a moment, looking at her and noting that she had tears in her eyes. "Another thing, don't ever cry over this." He used his thumb to remove her tears, making her blush. "I mean that."**

**She nodded looking up at him, "Thank you Sokka."**

**He hugged her quickly again, pulling away from her and walking to Zuko. He stood a arm's length away from him, both of them looking into one another's eyes. Zuko tensed up, not sure if Sokka was going to hit or hug him. Sokka broke the gaze and bowed to Zuko from the chest up.**

**Zuko reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him and into a hug. Sokka stood there motionless, not wanting to hug back, but not wanting to pull away. Zuko finally let him so, standing away from him. They gave one another a weak smile before Sokka moved away and walked back towards the house.**

**Suki ran to Zuko, her arms going around his waist in an embrace. He kissed the side of her head, telling her that things would be ok without having to say a word.**

**Aang was standing in the door way, watching the interaction that had just happened out in the garden. "What is going on?" He asked Sokka once he was near him.**

**Sokka sighed lightly, "Zuko and Suki are together now." He looked at Aang's confused face, "We are to never question or judge them for it, understood?"**

**Aang looked out at them still standing in the garden, a wide smile spread across Zuko's face. He looked back at Sokka and felt a twinge of guilt. He just nodded and watched Sokka as he walked away.**

"But I did right?"

"You did." Zuko took a drink of his tea. "But you never turned off how you felt."

"That was not part of the agreement." Sokka put his fingertips to his forehead, massaging it gently.

"I understand that." He sighed a little bit, "I'm gonna be honest though, I thought you would have moved on by now."

Sokka huffed, his arms crossing over his chest. "There is nothing to move on to."

"You could have gotten married, Sokka. You still could." Zuko held his tea and looked at Sokka, his shoulders hunched over a little bit. "I don't get how you think that just cause you did not marry Suki that you would never have anyone."

"Cause she was all that I wanted!" He looked at Zuko with a sad frown, "And then I could not have her so I did not want anyone. I could not be with someone with her on my mind."

"Now hang on a fucking second." It was the first time that day that Zuko had been firm with him that day. "Don't you dare blame her for the fact that you are still alone. You could have taken your heart break and gotten over it, you could have moved on but you choose to linger on a woman that married someone else."

"I thought she would be back." Sokka whispered ever so softly, looking down.

"What?"

Sokka continued to look down, not wanting to look at him when he told him this. "I thought that she would be back, that one day she would wake up and realize that she fucked up by choosing you." He looked up at Zuko. "Then she would leave you, come back to me and things would be alright again."

The look on Zuko's face was one that he had never seen before. His jaw was twisted slightly, his eyes clear and angry. His cheeks were flushed over a little bit as he looked at Sokka. They said nothing for a few moments, then Zuko slowly stood up from the table, adjusting his clothing as he did so.

"Say something." Sokka's voice was shaking.

Zuko glanced down at him before turning from him, going to leave.

"Don't fucking walk away!" Sokka stood up, walking after him.

"I think its best that I do." Zuko's voice was calm but firm.

"You fucking pussy! Why won't you face this like a fucking MAN!"

Zuko stopped in his tracks, looking back at him.

"You can't just walk away from this! I know, I've tried." Sokka had tears in his eyes, his nails digging into the skin on his forearms. "I don't give a shit if its uncomfortable for you or not. I want you to hear this; all of it."

Zuko turned back to him, his arms down at his side.

"I watched her go to you, I watched you kiss her, and marry her; hell I even heard you two fucking once! I have been forced to sit by and watch you live the life that I always wanted!" Sokka was close to Zuko's face, yelling at him. Zuko's arms were at his side, clenching his hands into a fist. "It's been eight years, eight FUCKING years of you and her, and me watching it! You had to do it for what, a year and a half?"

Zuko nodded, "About that."

"So image my pain, my hurt every damned day! " Sokka pulled away from him a little bit, looking him over. "I should be with her! It should have been me she married! I SHOULD BE THE FATHER OF HER BABY!"

Zuko snapped his head back, looking at Sokka who had tears in his eyes and rolling down his cheek. "So thats what this is all about." He said to himself.

**"We have sat a date!" Suki chirped at their friends as she clapped her hands. **

**"When is it?" Aang smiled widely at Suki who was sitting on the arm of the chair that Zuko was sitting at, her feet on the seat with her legs over his. **

**"First day of Summer. We thought it was fitting." Suki smiled over at Zuko who was watching her, his hand traveling up and down the back of her leg. His small sign of affection was hid by her dress, making him smile to himself each time he saw her try and hide a shiver of pleasure. **

**"Now is this the big wedding or the little one?" Toph scratched the side of her head, wanting clarification on the order of things. She was still a little confused about it. **

**"Its the big one." Zuko started in a clear voice. "Which is not to be confused with the real one. I mean they are both real but there will just be two of them. You see the one that will be the first day of Summer will be the one at the palace with all the fancy stuff going on. A week before that we will get married on Kyoshi Island in a ceremony that is traditional for there. The first, small, real one, is going to be private, just friends and close family. It is after that wedding that we will be officially married so the second one is more of less for show and cause being the Fire Lord sucks sometimes. The thing is though the people who are at the big, fake but still real, second wedding won't know about the first, real, small wedding and they won't know that we are already married so you guy's cant tell anyone." **

**Sokka, Suki, Aang and Katara looked at Zuko with mixed expressions on their faces. Zuko blushed a little bit and sunk down in the chair, feeling embarrassed. **

**"Thanks for the clarification Sparky." Toph chuckled. **

**"I don't think I've ever heard you talk that much." Sokka said to Zuko with a smile. **

**Suki laughed, "He is just excited, we both are." She reached out and stroked his cheek lovingly, making him purr softly. **

**As everyone's talk turned to the upcoming wedding Sokka watched Suki and Zuko, noting the way her eyes fluttered for a fraction of a second every time his hand disappeared under her dress. He remembered that there was a place on the back of her leg that when touched would give her a great deal of enjoyment. He used to love teasing her by touching and kissing that spot; it always leading to them making love. **

**He felt a wave of sadness came over him as he thought about Zuko touching that spot on her, about her swooning over him like she used to over himself. He could not help but smile though when he looked at them. In the two years since she had left for Zuko he had never seen him so happy, or her so loving. It was like every time they interacted with one another the mood in the room lightened. **

**They really were in love. **

**He sighed a little bit, thinking about attending their wedding and wondering if he would be able to stand by and watch them get married with all his hidden feelings. He felt Suki's blue eyes on his, her looking at him with a soft smile. He just gave her a wide smile and thought about how beautiful she would look on her wedding days. **


	5. Chapter 5

This is a lengthy scene so I'm giving it its own Chapter. It should put into perspective some things in the time line and clear up some confusion. There are notes at the end to address some of you guy's concerns / questions.

* * *

**Suki stood in her room, loading things into her bag as she prepared to leave Ba Sing Se the next day. The vacation was over, Zuko had to get back to the palace, and she with him. Love triangle or no she still had a job to do. She had a lot on her mind and was only half paying attention to her packing. She thought about Zuko confessing his love, about her telling Sokka that she loved him back. She bit her lip as she looked into the living room of the apartment, thinking about that kiss. **

**"That was the best kiss of my life." She said under her breath, reliving the moment in her head. She sighed to herself and looked down, realizing that she had in fact packed all the sheets that belonged in the room. She frowned heavily and dumped the entire bag onto the bed. **

**"So its true." Sokka's voice said from behind her, from the door way. **

**Suki looked back at him, "Whats true?" **

**"You're going back with him." **

**She shrugged a little bit, "I have to. Protecting him is my job." **

**Sokka walked into the room and watched her as she sorted her things out from the things that stayed in the room. "So you intend to be with him then?" **

**"I can't answer that right now, Sokka." **

**Sokka pressed his lips into a line, looking at her with a red face. "I think you owe me that much, Suki." **

**She leaned up and looked at him with a frown, "I owe you?" **

**He nodded, "I want an answer; me or him." **

**Suki turned to him, her hands on her hips "First off I don't like how you are demanding anything from me. Second off I don't even know how to answer that question right now, its complicated and I need time to sort out my feelings." **

**"Listen if you really don't love him thats all you have to say. If you just feel sorry for him thats ok." **

**"I don't feel sorry for him; I really do love him." She said this with a little too much a smile than Sokka would have liked. **

**"How long?" Sokka was looking at her and her soft smile, a frown on his face. **

**"A while." her eyes were serious, "Likely longer than he has felt that way about me." **

**Sokka locked his hands behind his head, looking away. **

**"I mean it just started out as a crush. He was so handsome, strong, and awkward, I just liked being around him." She laughed to herself as she said this. "But I was with you, so I ignored it. And then he was with Mai so I really ignored it. That and he was the Fire Lord and a little out of my league. " **

**"So when did it turn serious?" **

**"When she left, when he was so lonesome and just needed someone there and I was all there was." **

**"So it was that you felt sorry for him!" **

**"NO!" She crossed her arms across her chest. "I just loved being around him. Its why I stayed behind even after the other warriors went home, it was not just out of duty, but out of love as well." **

**Sokka frowned deeply, looking at her. "And now?" **

**"I'm in love with him. Just like I am in love with you. I'm in love with two men and I don't know what I'm going to do." Her voice shook a little bit as she spoke. It was like the reality of the situation finally hit her. She was half tempted to do nothing, to just run away from them both and return to her Island. It would be the best way to go. The best way to save them all from heartbreak and pain. The more she thought about it the more this seemed like a good idea. **

**"Is it something that I did?" Sokka asked her. **

**She looked at him with a frown, "We've been growing apart for some time now, and you know that." **

**He said nothing, but just looked at her. **

**"You never write, you never come and visit me, or even ask about what I'm doing." **

**"I know that you are busy..." **

**"And I am, but not too busy for you. You never seem to care about what's going on with me. The only time that you do seem to care is when we see one anther after a long time apart. Even then you just wanna fuck. You may be ok with that type of relationship, but I'm not." **

**"You never seemed to take issue with it when I was inside you." **

**Suki stood in front of Sokka with her arms crossed over her chest, her jaw twisted in anger and annoyance. **

**"That was a little mean, I'm sorry." **

**"Shut up." She snapped as she walked from the bedroom and into the living room. **

**Zuko was standing awkwardly in the living room, his hands at his side. **

**She looked at him with a frown. "Were you listening?" **

**He shook his head, "No. I just came in." **

**Suki's eyes widened as she looked at Zuko's face. Covering his right, good eye, was a dark bruise; a black eye. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" She reached for him, taking his face in her hand. **

**Zuko moved his face away from her, "Its nothing. I ran into an open cabinet." **

**Sokka was in the door way with a smirk on his face, looking at Zuko. **

**Suki looked back to him, "Did you do this!?" **

**Sokka said nothing as he looked at her. **

**"You both listen to me." She spoke to the both of them. "What we are going though right now is tricky and will be painful for us all. But we CANNOT resort to violence of any kind." **

**Neither Sokka or Zuko said anything, but just looked at Suki. **

**"If either of you touch one another in a violent way I will walk away; from both of you." **

**Sokka stood up from the door frame that he was leaning on, looking at Suki with a sad face. **

**"You mean that?" Zuko asked, his hands in front of him now. **

**"I do." She was glancing between the two, her voice stern. "I will leave you both, and never talk to or see you ever again. Is that understood?" Neither of them said anything, but just looked down silently. "Is that understood?!" They both voiced their understanding. "Now you two sat here and work on this." She left them in the room alone, walking out of the apartment. **

**She made her way to the court yard that was between the apartment and the tea shop, sitting on one of the benches that were there. Her hands in her lap, she closed her eyes and sighed heavily. **

**There was a noise by her, the sound of a cup of tea being sat next to her on the stone bench. She opened her eyes to see Iroh standing next to her, his hand still on the cup of tea that he had given her. **

**"You were going to walk away without saying anything, wen't you?" **

**"I thought that I should leave you with your thoughts." He stood up straight, smiling at her. **

**"I could actually use some company right now." Her voice was soft, "And some advice, if its not too much to ask." **

**He picked up the tea that he had sat down and smiled at her, "It would be my pleasure. But I will need this for myself." He smiled and took a sip of the tea. "You know I expected you to come to me sooner." **

**"I likely should have." **

**"I will also have you know that you are the third person that I've talked to in the past few days about the situation." **

**She smiled to herself, glancing over at him as he took a sip of his tea. "And what was your advise to them?" **

**"I told my nephew that matters of the heart are complex; but are best dealt with by being honest with yourself and others, no matter the consequences or how afraid you might be." **

**Suki smiled a little bit, "And what did you tell Sokka?" **

**"That a woman's heart is fickle and a potentially hazardous object. The moment that you think you have it understood she will surprise you. You cannot question her though, even if you may want to, as its part of her own internal path."**

**"I bet he loved that." She chuckled little bit. "So what is your advice to me?" **

**"It will be a combination of both of them. That you have a complex and difficult choice ahead of you and it is not one that will be easy to make, but that you have to honest in your choice and know exactly what you want." He took a long sip of his tea. **

**"What if I can't? What if I can't make the choice between them." **

**"I think that you already have." He glanced over at her with a soft and sincere smile. "I don't know what the choice is, but I have the feeling that you do." **

**"What makes you think that?" She shifted in her seat, glancing over at him. **

**"Because you are the only one who did not come and see me." He stood up from the bench, "But until then I think that you need time, and there is always a room open for you here." **

**Suki nodded, "Thank you. I think I will take you up on that offer." **

**He nodded softly at her, walking back to the tea shop with his cup of tea.**

**Suki watched him go, motionless on the bench with her hands in her lap. He was right, she had made up her mind, but she was not sure if it was the right choice to make. She closed her eyes and stood up, walking back to the apartment. **

**Sokka and Zuko were sitting on pillows next to one another, both of them had long brown cigarettes in their mouths. She sighed and walked to them, ripping the smokes out of both of their mouths. "I've told you both plenty of times not to smoke." She put them both out on the ash tray. "It makes you taste gross." **

**She sat down on the floor in front of them. She looked at them both, the two strong handsome men that she loved. **

**There was Sokka, the funny brave warrior she fell in love with all those years ago. He was her lover, and the man that just a few days ago she thought was going to ask her to be his wife. She would have said yes, she might even still says yes. She had thought to much about being married to him, about their future, their family and life together. That future was sure, it was safe and it made he want to be wrapped in the embrace of him and that life. **

**Then there was Zuko, the wonderful man who was a far cry from the lost angry boy that had tried to burn down her village. He was her best friend and most trusted companion. She had never thought about her life with him though. She had no idea what being with him would be like, or even if they would be able to make it work between them. There was uncertainty, there was risk involved, and she was terrified. It made her want him even more. **

**"Three months from now I want us to meet at the palace, I will have an answer then." **

**"And until then?" Sokka asked. **

**"I know what you're asking, and no, I'm not your girlfriend anymore." **

**Both Suki and Zuko looked over at Sokka. Sokka looked like he was going to cry, his face drawn and eye brows gathered in a deep frown. **

**"I'm sorry Sokka. But in order to fully know what it is that I need to do I need to separate myself from the both of you."**

**"Are you still going back with him?" Sokka motioned to Zuko, his voice angry. **

**Suki looked to Zuko, "No. I'm not." **

**Zuko frowned a little bit but nodded, "I understand." **

**"I need to think. I may stop in and see you both during this time, but I need to think, and I can't do it around you." **

**"Where will you go?" Zuko asked her, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that she was going to be without a place to stay, that she would be away from him. "You can stay here if you need to, I'm sure that Uncle will not mind." **

**"He offered, and I accepted." She smiled a little bit, "So I will be here, and I may travel as well. I'm not really sure. I just need time." **

**Sokka nodded, "If you need anything please let us know." **

**Zuko nodded in agreement. **

**She smiled at them both, "Thank you. Please do not attempt to see me during this time either. I will come to you if I need to, alright?" They both nodded and she reached out, taking both of their hands into hers. "It may be during this time that I decided that it is best I move on all together." **

**"So neither of us?" **

**Suki nodded, "I don't know if that will be my choice, but it may be." **

**Zuko squeezed her hand softly. "You do what you think is right." **

**"Exactly." Sokka gave her a weak smile. **

**Suki nodded and stood up, pulling them up with her. She leaned in and kissed Sokka on the lips first, pulling away before the kiss got too far. She did the same thing with Zuko, patting his chest softly. **

**"I love you, both of you." She stood between them, looking at both of them. "And I will see you soon." She said nothing else as she walked to the bedroom, sliding the door closed behind her and locking it. **

* * *

So Hopefully this will put things into perspective and make Suki and Zuko not look so heartless. The next chapter, which I will post likely tomorrow, will go into more detail about stuff with Sokka and how he feels about things. I know that I'm really breaking Sokka's heart here and I don't mean to. The next chapter dose kinda give him a happy ending, or at least a happy existence while all this is going on.

The Threesome thing would be a good resolution, but I took it out. It was something that I have written a few months ago and just kinda shoved it into this story. I did not really fit so I took it out and write around it. While is it a very intriguing and sexy resolution, it really did not fit into the story line and was a little confusing.

I'm so glad that you all love this story! I know it has been fun to write. I will have two more chapters after this, then onto the next story, which I already have in mind. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Suki loved Sokka. She loved the way that he looked at her, the way he made her laugh, and epically the way that he touched her. They had been one another's first and only, so far. In the three years since they started having sex they had learned about one another's bodies in the most intimate of ways. He could please her almost as well as she could please herself, and most of the time left her breathless and blushing under him. **

**The sex was one of the best things about being with him. **

**There was more to it than that though. She really did love his company, his companionship. He always made her laugh when she needed it most, and better yet he knew when she needed to laugh. He was always ready to hold her, to kiss her, not caring who was around. It was as if he wanted everyone to know that they were with one another, that there were no secrets. **

**She thought about these things as he laid with his head on her stomach, his cheek pressed to her skin. She ran her fingers though his thick brown hair, her eyes half closed. His arms were rapped around her hips, the side of his thumb stroking her bottom. **

**"Have you made a choice?" Sokka asked her, breaking the silence between then. **

**"Lets not talk about this." Suki shook her head. **

**Sokka lifted his head and let his chin rest on her stomach, looking up at her. "I can't stop thinking about it..." **

**"Well that makes two of us." Suki rolled her eyes. **

**"And then you come here and we do this and it just confuses me more." **

**Suki clenched her eyes tight, "I know." She sat up, forcing him to do the same. She opened her eyes as they both sat in bed naked. Suki's hands went to his face, holding it. "I guess I just missed you." **

**He pressed his forehead to hers with a frown, "I missed you too." His hands went to her chest, holding her and making her bush. "I love you Suki." **

**"I love you too, Sokka." She did not lie when she said this. The kiss that she gave him as she kissed him down to the bed was not a lie either. She never lied to him, she never told him anything other than the truth as their bodies joined together in love and passion. **

**None of it was a lie; she really did love him. **

On one hand Zuko wanted Sokka to cry, he wanted him to feel pain and to suffer for years of hurt, for years of him lying to his face. It made Zuko shiver with anger at the thought of his friend for over 10 years not only hoping, but counting on his wife leaving him. He had stood with them as they were married; not once but twice. He smiled and enjoyed life with them, all the while acting like things were alright. That he was happy along with, and for them.

However as Zuko sat and watched Sokka sitting on the floor in front of him, crying, he felt bad for him. He felt the pain, the anguish that Sokka had held inside for all these years and he felt overwhelming guilt. It was his fault after all.

The other thing that Zuko was feeling was a little bit of hurt. Suki was going to have a baby, their baby and he wanted to celebrate, Sokka to celebrating with him. It hurt him that he had to be here like this now, that he could not celebrate for fear of hurting his friend.

Sokka stopped crying, his hands cast to the side.

"Feel better?"

Sokka shook his head, "I feel worse actually." His voice was shaking from the crying, his face dry and sore. "I feel like shit for not holding up to our agreement."

"I think you held up to it." Zuko laced his fingers together, looking at them. "You were never resentful, you were just sad." He looked at Sokka with a soft frown on his face, "And when we made the announcement two days ago that we were expecting it brought all of it up again."

"No." Sokka crossed his legs in front of him, his hands in his lap. "Well kinda." He looked at Zuko, "I did think that she would leave you. I don't know why but I held onto that hope but I did." He saw that same angry look return to Zuko's face. "And then the other day when news of the baby came out I guess it finally hit me that she was really gone. That there was no way she would leave you if there was a child involved."

"What I don't get about that is why you thought that for so long." Zuko's face was red with anger. "I mean we were obviously happy. Why did you think that she would just up and leave me when things were going well?"

Sokka said nothing, but just looked down.

"And if you were trying to break us up you were doing a pretty piss poor job. We always thought of you as our biggest supporter. When we had problems we went to you. You kept us together when we did want to call it quits."

**A horizontal pillar of fire burst forth from Zuko and Suki's bedroom in the Ember Island vacation home. Zuko stomped out of the room, his face red. The next thing that came out of the room was one of Suki's gold fans. It hit Zuko in the back of his head then fell to the floor with a hard clunk. **

**His hand went to the back of his head and he turned back to the door, "Real FUCKING MATURE!" **

**"You got what you had coming you son of a bitch!" **

**Sokka and Aang were standing at the end at the end of the hall way watching what was going on. They had heard their raising vices from the bedroom and had only gone to see what was going on when the yelling really started. **

**Suki ran out to Zuko in the hall, pulling a robe around her. "Its not just your wedding!" **

**"When did I say that? I know its not!" **

**"Your sure as hell acting like it is!" **

**"I told you I did not have a choice in the matter!" **

**Sokka nudged Aang, motioning to them. "You're the Avatar, fix it." Sokka said under his breath. **

**"I'm so tired of that fucking excuse!" Suki had tears in her eyes now, her arms crossed over her chest. **

**"Its not an excuse!" **

**"Um guys..." Aang walked to them, speaking in a soft voice "Is there anything that we can to do help yo-" **

**"SHUT UP AANG!" Suki yelled at him, turning back to Zuko, "Its all you ever say anymore; that you have no choice!" **

**"Well I don't!" **

**"YES YOU DO!" She stomped her foot in anger, her hands flying out and in frustration. **

**"BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Sokka's voice was louder than either Suki or Zuko's had been. They froze and looked over at him. "Suki, what did Zuko do?" He walked to them, standing in front of Aang and speaking with a calm even voice.**

**"I did nothing." Zuko huffed. **

**"He was asking me!" **

**"I was." He looked to Suki again, "What did he do?" **

**"He is making choices about the wedding without me." **

**"I made once choice." He held up a single finger. **

**"What was the choice?" Sokka glanced to Zuko before looking back at Suki. **

**"He invited Mai." Suki's voice shook a little as she said this, looking at Zuko with a sad and angry look. **

**"I told you that I did not have a choice in the matter. She is a noble and has to be invited. I can't afford to alienate the people who make the Fire Nation run, ex-girlfriend or no." **

**"I mean he has a point Suki." Sokka's hand when to his chin, stroking his beard. "Why don't you want her to be there?" **

**"Thats what I don't get. Every time you have been around her there has been no issue between the two of you." Zuko held his hands in the air as he looked over at her. **

**"It has nothing to do with me and her, its you." **

**"Me?" **

**"Yes!" Suki had tears on her cheeks, that she wiped away with the palm of her hand. **

**"Tell him why Suki." Sokka's voice was soft and sure, almost comforting. **

**"You change whenever she is around." She looked over at Zuko as she spoke, wanting him to know the extent of her feelings on the matter. "You get all mopey and are like that for days after. You turn into that same little shit you were all those years ago and I hate it!" **

**He frowned, looking at her, "No I don't." **

**"Yes you do." Sokka told him quickly. **

**"Thats why I don't want her there. Its nothing to do with jealousy like you think it is. I just want you to be happy on our wedding day." **

**"And I will be happy, but I have to invite her Suki. She is a noble and they have to be invited. Its traditional for all of them to be at the wedding of the Fire Lord." **

**"Thats another thing! You keep saying you have to do stuff when thats not right!" **

**"Suki, no yelling." Sokka said in a soft voice. "Just talk about whats bothering you." **

**She sighed and looked at Zuko, "You keep saying that this and that is tradition and you have no choice in the matter." **

**"Thats true though. I have to do things that neither of us want because of who I am. I'm Fire Lord and like it or not I have some responsibilities that I can't get out of." **

**"Thats bull shit, Zuko." Sokka said to his friend. **

**Zuko snapped his gaze to Sokka, "What?" **

**"I know that you don't give a fuck about tradition. If you did you would not be marrying her." **

**"Exactly." Suki was crying harder now. **

**"You are the Fire Lord and you are going to marry a girl from Kyoshi Island, who is not a noble in any way, shape, or form. You are going against tradition by being with her, so you can't stand behind tradition now that it comes to other stuff." **

**Zuko was looking at Suki while Sokka was saying this, watching as she cried. **

**"Thats why it bothers me when you say that." Suki looked at him, drying her eyes. "You are so worried about following tradition and don't wanna do anything that goes against it. I am not traditional, so it makes me feel like you are not wanting to do - to be - with me."**

**"I don't mean that at all." He went to her, taking her hands into his, holding him to her chest. "I wanna be with you and I don't care about social status or anything like that." **

**"Then can you please accept that you don't have to do everything by the book?" **

**He nodded and he leaned down and kissed her knuckles, "I will, and if you don't want Mai there we don't have to have her there." **

**She nodded, "Thank you." **

**"You just have to uninvite her." His face was drawn into an awkward frown. **

**She nodded and kissed him in answer. **

**Sokka smiled to himself and turned around, walking back into the kitchen. Aang followed him, "You did a good job on that." Aang told him. **

**"You are not the only one who has the power to bring balance to the world." Sokka's voice was booming with pride, a huge grin across his face. **

Sokka was holding his head, "I never wanted to break you guys up. I wanted to help you cause I loved you both and wanted you to be happy."

"But then why did you think she would leave me!? Thats what I'm confused about. If you wanted her to leave me why did you help us, why did you care so much?"

Sokka pulled on his hair, yelping a little bit, "I don't know!" He panted softly, "I don't know why I acted like I did, or why I felt like I did. I did not want her to leave, I just thought she would."

"Well what's the difference?"

Sokka shook his head again, "I don't know, alright?!" Sokka held his chin in his hands. "I don't really know, Zuko."

They said nothing, but just looked at one another for a little while. Zuko wanted to say something but he was not really sure how to. He himself had kept feelings on the matter held inside for years. Suki knew of corse; him having told her during one of their countless nights spent talking instead of sleeping. She had comforted him, told him that it was somewhat natural to have feelings like this and that there was no use on lingering in the past. Her words had put him at ease but did not address the feelings that he still held on the matter.

"Sometimes I wish I would have never told her that I loved her." He finally said, his voice shallow. "That I would have kept it to myself and let you two get married. I would be to you two what you are to us."

"But then you would have been miserable."

"Well one of us was going to be..."

**Zuko was standing in the Kitchen of his apartment in Ba Sing Se. Well it was not really his apartment, it was uncle's. He stayed here when he was in town though, helping in the tea shop from time to time. People who came in and still be shocked at seeing him with an apron on and holding a tray of tea. It always made Zuko laugh when they awkwardly interacted with him. **

**He was not in the mood to serve tea today though, but he did want a cup of it. He sat down with his back to the wall as the water was heating up. He held his head in his hands, running his fingers though his dark hair with a sigh. **

**As he closed his eyes he thought about Suki, about the events of the past few weeks, and mostly about the blue betrothal necklace that Sokka had shown him. It felt like a punch to the gut. He knew that she would say yes, and that she would be married to him. That was not the worst of it. If she was married she could no longer be a Kyoshi Warrior, she would no longer be his body guard, his companion. The thought of it made him want to throw up. **

**He was happy that she would be getting married to Sokka, to the person she did love so much, but it broke his heart that he would loose her in the process. He pulled his hair and grit his teeth as the image of their wedding day crept into his head, him standing to the side alone, really alone from that moment on. **

**"Don't do that." Suki's voice pulled him of the nightmarish day dream. She was kneeling in front of him, pulling his hand away from his scalp. She was in her casual Kyoshi uniform, as was traditional these days when she was guarding him. Not that she did much guarding these days. She mostly just kept him company, helped him, comforted him, and understood him. He found all these things much better than her guarding him. "You should not pull at your hair." She sat down next to him, speaking to him with a soft voice. **

**"I know, I can't help it sometimes." **

**"So whats wrong?" She hated seeing him like this, seeing him upset. **

**He looked over at her, the beautiful 19 year old woman who he had fallen in love with. "Can I ask you something?" **

**"Of corse." She laughed softly, "You don't have to ask me if you can ask me something, you just ask. I thought you would have known that by now." She nudged him with her shoulder. **

**"Yeah..." His voice trailed off, looking at her. "Something bad is about to happen, I mean nothing bad. Not bad for who it is about to happen to anyways." **

**"Who is it bad for?" Her hand snaked on top of his, like it always did when she was trying to comfort him. **

**"Me, and its not really even bad. Things will just change and I will loose something very special to me." **

**"Then you should fight for that thing that is special to you." She smiled softly at him. "I mean if you care about this thing that much you will stop at nothing to keep it." **

**"You think so?" **

**She nodded, "Very much so. If you do nothing you are sure to lose it, which you don't want." She laughed a little bit, "I don't want that for you." **

**"What do you mean?" **

**"You have so little that makes you happy Zuko, and I don't want you to loose anything." She leaned her head back on the wall, looking over at him. "So whatever it is that you are about to loose I suggest that you fight like hell to make sure you don't loose it." **

**"Even if it means risking having my friends hate me?" His face was flushed over, looking at her fair features. **

**Her eye browed raised, "What is this thing you want so bad?" **

**Zuko stood up with a sign, walking away from her and into the living room. "Its nothing, Forget I said anything." **

**She got up and went to him, grabbing him by his shoulder and pulling him around so he was facing her. "Don't pull that shit with me, what is it?" **

**He stood in front of her, their faces less than a foot apart. It occurred to him in that moment that he could not live without her, or at least without her knowing how he felt. He looked into her eyes and knew that he would have to fight like hell for this, for her, and it would be his greatest pleasure do to so. **

**"Well?" She was growing impatient now. **

**It was with this that he did it, he took action and fought. He leaned in quickly and pressed his lips to hers. It was a clumsy kiss, with their lips not even making full contact with one another's. His hands went to her upper arms, not to hold her, but to steady himself. He felt like he was about to faint. **

**After a moment of contact Suki's lips opened and she embraced the kiss, adjusting to his awkward angle. He felt her gasp as her hands went to either side of his face, his lips moving into the kiss along with her's. His arms went to her waist, pulling her close as they kissed. **

**It was Zuko who finally pulled away, leaving her hovering in mid air, wanting more. "It's you Suki." He smiled ever so lightly. "You are the thing that I want, you are the thing that I cannot live without, you are the thing that I want to fight like hell for." He felt tears in his eyes, one of them rolling down his cheek. "I love you, Suki."**

**She was looking at him with her mouth open a little bit, unable to speak. She simply ran her fingers over the rough edge of his scar, feeling the texture of it, the texture that she loved and adored, just like the man it belonged to. **

**Zuko saw the conflict in her face, and felt the rejection in the lack of her words. He pulled away from her, looking down. "Please... Forget that just happened." He shook his head, walking away from her. "Nothing happened." He said to himself as he left the apartment and went to the tea shop. **

"Thats not really fair, Zuko. I mean you loved her just like I did. If you would have not said anything she would have never had to make the choice, thus she would have limited herself."

"But she would have been with you."

Sokka shrugged, "True, but then she would have lived her entire life with me simply because she did not have an option for anything else." he smiled to himself, "I guess I would rather her have the choice and not choose me than never being given the choice at all."

"I guess thats one way to look at it." Zuko smiled a little bit. "I always kinda hated myself for taking her from you. I felt it was very selfish of me to tell her that I loved her, to even try to pull you guys apart when I knew how you felt about her."

Sokka shook his head, "Don't think like that, alright?" he held his face in his hands. "I mean what I said that night in the palace, that I wanted her to be happy, even if it was not with me. And she is happy, for that I am glad." He looked at Fire Lord Zuko, thinking about the role that had been thrusted on him all those years ago. "You needed her more than I did anyways."

"You think I needed her?"

He nodded, standing. "I know you and I know that you need someone close to you or else you turn into a royal ass." He extended his hand to Zuko, who them took it, pulling himself up with Sokka's help. "So you have her, and I'm glad it was her. She has done so much good in the world and I don't know if she would have been able to do that if not for her being Fire Lady." Sokka walked into the kitchen, getting himself a glass of water.

"She is an amazing Fire Lady." Zuko said this was a dreamy sign; he was still enamored by his wife even after all these years.

Sokka nodded, "She's not the only good one."

"What?"

"You are an Amazing Fire Lord, you know that?" Sokka drank his water then put the cup back onto the counter.

Zuko frowned a little bit, reaching back and scratching the back of his head. "I guess." he shrugged, "The last three Fire Lords were kinda evil. So yeah, I am pretty good compared to them." He laughed softly.

Sokka walked to him and put his hands on Zuko's shoulders, looking into his eyes. "No. You are fucking amazing. You are kind, wise, a hell-a-va good leader, a great husband and friend. And I know for a fact that you will be the best damned father in the world"

Zuko gave him a soft smile, his cheeks flushing over a little bit.

"I really mean that. I mean you sat here today and let me yell at you about shit that I really had no right to be upset with you over. Not only did you take it, but you comforted me when by right you could have kicked my ass."

"I sill could kick your ass." Zuko was half joking when he said this, but they both laughed as Sokka pulled his hands away from him.

"As I'm sure you still will." He looked at the Fire Lord. "I'm fucking serious though Zuko, I'm glad that we are friends."

"So we are still friends?" Zuko crossed his arms across his chest.

"Of corse we are friends, we always were. From that very first day when you saved us from Sparky Sparky Boom Man you were my friend. Nothing, not even a woman, will change that."

Zuko nodded and smiled a little bit, "I'm glad to have you as my friend as well. You really are a great and brave man, as well as a damn good councilman. You, just as much as Aang or I have shaped this city and the world into what it is today."

"You think?"

Zuko nodded, "I do, you will go down in history just like the rest of us will."

Sokka perked up a little bit, smiling. "I kinda like the sound of that."

"Sokka the Bachelor."

"Damn right." Sokka grinned.

"I mean its not like you don't have plenty of woman at your beck and call. I've never known you to be without some kind of companion."

"That is true." Sokka scratched his chin, smiling widely. "I'm seeing this Fire Nation woman right now, she seems to like me."

"Of corse she likes you." Zuko smiled at him. "Is she pretty?"

"Very. She kinda reminds me of your sister."

He cringed, "Never call my sister pretty again."

Sokka laughed as he leaned against the back of a chair in the living room. "It's not that I don't have woman to date, I do. I just never really was able to commit."

"I know." Zuko's attention turned to the mess in the living room, "I want you to though; we want you to, Suki and I." He picked up some clothing that was on the sofa, throwing it though the open bedroom door. "I mean there is always Toph."

The name made Sokka blush, "I'm not sure Toph even thinks about stuff like that."

"She does with you."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm not able to comment on the matter, you should ask her though." he chuckled a little bit.

Sokka narrowed his eyes at him, "Whatever."

Zuko smiled to himself, looking over the still dirty room. "Aang and the girls are going to be by in a bit, we should clean up."

Sokka nodded in agreement, "I'm gonna take a shower." He started to walk to his bedroom, going though the door. "You take care of the living room." He closed the door behind him before Zuko could even answer.

**"You know I've never really liked the color green." **

**"I think it looks nice on you, Sokka." Aang's voice was just as cheery and positive as always. **

**Sokka sighed in mild annoyance as he changed into the green formal robe that had been given to him. He did not want to but It was tradition for all the men involved in the Kyoshi wedding ceremony to dress like this. He stepped out of his individual dressing room and saw Zuko in his own green outfit, standing in front of a large mirror and looking at his reflection. The green outfit was just like Sokka's but there was a dark green sash around his waist. There was no evidence of royalty in his attire. No headpiece, no gold belts, nothing that would suggest that he was Fire Lord. He was not the Fire Lord today, just Zuko, bridegroom to a Kyoshi Warrior. **

**"You on the other hand look great in green." Sokka told his friend. **

**Zuko looked at Sokka though the mirror, "Thanks." His voice was soft and shaking a little bit. **

**"Are you... nervous?" Sokka walked next to Zuko, looking at them both as he fixed the color of his own robe. **

**Zuko nodded, pulling his hair back into a knot at the back of his head. "I am." **

**Sokka laughed a little bit, reaching out and patting his shoulder. "I can stand in for you if you like." **

**Zuko rolled his eyes with a soft smile, "I think I'll be ok." **

**"Look at how handsome we all are!" Aang walked up behind them, putting an arm around each of their shoulders, his head in-between theirs. "The girls are gonna love it." **

**"Zuko's about to get married, he doesn't have to impress her anymore." Sokka smirked softly. **

**"It still helps." Suki's voice came from outside the door. She could not be seen though, she was hiding from Zuko's gaze. **

**"COVER HIS EYES!" Sokka cling to Zuko's head to cover his eyes, hitting him hard in the nose as he did so. **

**"Ow!" **

**"Don't hurt him." Suki said laughing softly. **

**Aang removed the sash from around Zuko's waist and put it over his closed eyes. "Can you see, Zuko?" **

**Zuko shook his head, "No." He waved his hand in front of his face to verify that he was in fact blind for the time being. **

**"Come on in." Sokka said to Suki. **

**She stepped into the door way, her large green dress filling the door frame. Sokka's breath was taken away when he saw her. The dress was an overly formalized and feminized version of her Kyoshi unoform, and fit her thin frame beautifully. Her make up was a simplified version of the normal Kyoshi make up, with red lips and thick eye liner. As Sokka and Aang looked at her with smiles, all she looked at was Zuko. **

**Sokka and Aang left the room, both of them hugging her silently as they did so. Sokka also kissed her on her forehead, making her smile widely as she hugged him back. **

**Aang and Sokka joined Katara and Toph out in the hall; leaving Suki and a blindfolded Zuko alone in the room. Both Katara and Toph in green silk dresses that matched Suki's. Toph pulled at it awkwardly, not being used to delicate things like this. **

**"Doesn't she look beautiful?" Katara asked Aang as she hugged him around the waist. **

**Aang nodded and kissed Katara, "So do you." **

**Katara laughed softly and held his hand tightly. **

**"Are you ok?" Toph whispered to Sokka, reaching out for his arm. **

**Sokka nodded, moving his arm into her hand. "Yeah." He kissed Toph on the side of the head as he pulled her close, making her blush deeply. **

**He peered into the room that they were in. Suki was holding Zuko's face with a smile, brushing some stray hairs away lovingly. Zuko had that same smile on his face that he always did when he was with her, one of pure love and admiration. **

**He smiled to himself, thinking how perfect that they looked in that moment. He was happy for them, both of them. He did not even wish that he was in Zuko's place, he was just happy that his friend was able to smile like that. **

**"Today is going to be a good day." **


	7. Chapter 7

_So sorry that this took so long. I was not sure how to end it so I was kinda stuck. _

_So this is the last part, enjoy. And thank you so much for reading! _

_Till next time. _

* * *

Kya's little foot steps ran though the door way of Sokka's apartment, her giggles filling the space as she ran towards Zuko. He smiled at seeing her, kneeling down with his arms open. She ran into his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck as he picked her up.

"Oh Zuko!" The three year old girl told the tall FireBender, "You are my absolute favorite person, ever."

"Am I now?" He asked her as he held her on his hip. He glanced towards the door and saw Katara walking into the apartment. It was the person that was with her that truly grabbed his attention though.

"I've been thinking about your Fire Bending." Kya chirped at him.

"What about it?" he asked, his eyes going back to her blue ones.

"I just want you to know that if your fire ever gets too big for you to handle that I can put it out, ok?" Her voice was serious, her eyes wide. "Cause I'm a water bender, and I can do it."

"If anything ever happens I will let you know, ok?"

Kya nodded and smiled, "Ok."

He smiled and kissed the side of her head, making her giggle like mad. He sat her down on the ground, "Now go mess up Uncle Sokka's things that I just cleaned."

"OK!" She ran off into the kitchen.

"She has been wanting to tell you that for a few weeks now." Katara smiled at Zuko, following Kya into the kitchen with a basket under her arm.

"Its cute, don't you think?" Her voice was sweet and soft, but had a commanding tone to it, even after all these years.

Zuko smiled at the beautiful woman dressed in red and green, her auburn hair pulled back behind her head and her hand over her noticeably swollen stomach. He had never been so relieved, so happy to see her.

"I think she has a thing for me."

Suki walked to her husband with a gentle laugh "Her first crush."

Zuko leaned in and kissed her tenderly, his arms snaking around her waist and holding her possessively. He made sure not to hold her to tight though, for fear of hurting the bundle on her abdomen. She moaned into the kiss, smiling as she did so. "I've missed you." He said into her lips after breaking away from the kiss.

"Its been 3 hours, Zuko."

"Its felt like 8 years."

She smiled and kissed him again quickly. "How is he?"

Zuko shrugged, "Its hard to tell. He's hurt, but I think he will get over it."

"We've been thinking that for years now."

"I know." He rolled his eyes, "I guess this is all we can do."

She nodded and let go of Zuko, pulling away from him and going toward's Sokka's room.

**Sokka had been looking all over for her. He figured that she would eventually need a moment to herself, a moment away from all the nobility and formal activity that had marred the day. He finally found her on a balcony that overlooked the ballroom at the palace and the party going on below. **

**"Your Majesty." Sokka bowed to Suki in her formal red, white and green robes; her wedding dress. She was not just Suki now, not just the beautiful and strong Kyoshi Warrior that he had known for so long, but something else even more amazing and special. She was Fire Lady Suki. **

**Suki turned around and looked at him with a large smile, her hands folded together in front of her, the weight of the Fire Lady head piece still a foreign feeling on her scalp. "Sokka..." She walked to him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. "I'm just Suki to you, never anything else." **

**He hugged her back before let got of her, leaning down on the railing of the balcony, looking down. She stood next to him on the balcony, her hand on the railing next to his arm. "I thought about you today." She said in a soft voice, looking down at the party. **

**"What about me?" He looked over at her as she leaned on the railing next to him, their upper arms pressed together. **

**"I just was thinking what our wedding would have been like." **

**Sokka frowned a little bit, looking at her silhouette. "I don't think you should think about things like that, especially today." **

**"You mean you wen't thinking about it?" **

**"It's different if I do." **

**She looked over at him with a smile, "I would have dressed in blue, with my hair down." She nodded a little bit as she turned back to the party, scanning it to try and find her new husband. **

**Sokka sighed lightly, turning away from her and looking down. "Do you regret your choice, Suki?" **

**"Never." She said quickly, spotting Zuko in the crowd, her very soul getting happy at making contact with him and his presence again. **

Sokka was sitting on his bed in his blue pants after getting out of the shower, his chin in his hands as he looked at the wall in front of him. His attention snapped to the door as it opened, the Fire Lady herself walking into his bedroom.

"Hi." He stood up, smiling at her softly as he looked her over. He had not seen her in over a month, and it was clear the physical difference between then and now. "Wow, you really are pregnant."

She pouted playfully, looking down at her stomach and holding it. "I'm not that big."

He walked to her, "You are." He laughed a little bit, putting his large hands over her stomach. "How far along are you?"

"Five months, give or take."

"Its so warm, I don't remember Katara being like that when she was pregnant with Kya."

A blush crept over her face. "Its a cause the baby's Fire Bender." She laughed a little bit, looking down at her stomach.

"Future Fire Lord." He was speaking to himself, looking at her stomach in awe.

She laughed a little bit, lifting her chin up so he was forced to look at her. "I have a favor to ask."

"Anything for you, m'lady."

"Be happy for us." Her voice was soft and caring but firm. Her request was just as much a command as it was anything. "For Zuko and I, for the child that we will be having. Please don't linger, its not good for anyone, especially you."

He looked into her blue grey eyes, getting the same feelings from them that he always did, that he expected he would always would. "I wish it were that simple, Suki."

"I know Sokka." Her hands went on top of his that were still on her stomach. "But I'm still asking you to do this for me. I will never ask anything from you ever again; I just need this for me and my family."

"I was never not happy for you..."

"You just wanted it to be you in place of him, and that has to stop. I am with Zuko, Sokka. He is my husband and the love of my life. Nothing will ever change that."

He looked at her, tears in the bottom if his eyes. It occurred to him in this moment that Suki was never going to be his, that she would never going to leave Zuko. He had known it for a long time, but he had adamantly rejected it until this moment. He was unable to stop himself as tears started to fall onto his cheeks.

"We love you Sokka, and we want you to be happy, and this is not making you happy. Lingering on this will only lead to pain."

"Pain is a good way to describe it." He voice shook as he spoke, unable to stop the tears.

She started to cry a little bit, seeing him in this state. This was in part why the conversation was never brought up before. She knew what it would do to him and could not deal with doing that to someone she loved so much. She did love him, they both did, but it was not the love the Sooka wanted. It would never be that love again.

She put a hand on his cheek, holding it comfortingly and pushing away some tears. "And it hurts, I have no doubt in that. But you also have to face the pain, its the only way you will reach inner peace."

"You sound like Iroh." He laughed a little, tears rolling down his cheeks.

She chuckled, "I think that is a very nice complement."

"It is." He looked at her with a soft frown. "I kinda wish you would have told me this a long time ago."

She sighed a little bit, feeling a dash of anger at herself for not doing just that. "I likely should have. We just thought that we did not have to, we figured that you would move past it over time. We thought wrong and I'm sorry for that."

"We." He said with a sigh as he sat down on the bed, holding his head.

"Yes; we. Thats what him and I are, a unit." She reached down and took his hand, intertwining their fingers, "And you are part of what makes us who we are, and nothing will ever change that."

He looked up at Suki, his cheeks still wet, "Can I still love you?"

"Yes, but you can't be in love with me." She shook her head softly. "You can't think about us being together anymore."

"I hadn't thought about that for a while now."

"Really?"

He looked at her with a soft glare, then looked away. "I was happy for you both every step of the way. Please don't think that I was not."

"I know you were." She smiled a little bit. "But you still looked at each interaction wishing that you were in it, didn't you?"

Sokka's silence answered her question.

"And we can't have that anymore, for everyone's sake, alight?"

He nodded shallowly, looking up at her. "I know."

She smiled down at him and took his hand into hers, pressing it onto her stomach. Thought her skin he could feel the baby moving, its small arms and legs pressing onto his hand. He looked at her stomach with a smile, tears in his eyes.

"We want her to know and love you like we do. We want you in her life. To be a friend to her like Aang, Katara and Toph will be."

"You think its a girl?"

She nodded, "Everyone thinks its a boy, but I keep having dreams about it being a girl." She laughed a little bit, she let go of his hand and rested her own hands on top of her stomach.

He stood up, his hand still on her stomach. "I hope its a girl."

She smiled at him warmly, "Me too."

**Suki, Zuko and Sokka stood at the edge of the rock cliff on Ember Island, looking out at the vast ocean spread out in front of them. Suki glanced back and looked at them, the two shirtless men behind her. It had only been two years since the end of the war, but they both looked so drastically different, so much more grown up. They were both taller, their shoulders broader and faces longer. Sokka's chin was covered with thick brown hair forming a small but well manicured beard. Zuko's face was clean shaven but his hair was a little bit longer than before, just long enough that even a small amount of wind would cause it to whip around his head. **

**She looked different as well. Her face and body were fuller, as well as he frame taller. This was especially evident now as she stood before them in a tight swim suit, most of her soft skin exposed to them. It was something that she never really thought about, but was something that infested their every thought and dreams. **

**"Lets make an agreement." She looked at them both with a smile, her eyes happy. **

**"What kind of agreement?" Sokka felt himself looking her over, his mind wondering to what he would do to her later; when they were alone. **

**Zuko looked though his thin back hair wiping around him at her; his mind wandering to things that he would do for her, if only given the chance. **

**"Let's agree that we will always be friends, no matter what happens." **

**"Are you planning on something happening?" Sokka half laughed. **

**"Well no." She smiled at them, "But I just always want us to be friends." **

**"This getting kinda mushy." Zuko rolled his eyes and looked away. **

**"Oh shut up." She reached out and punched Zuko on the arm lightly. "I mean it." **

**"You already know my answer." Zuko said with a little bit of a smile. **

**Sokka nodded with a smile, "Me too. The three of us will always be friends." **

**Suki turned towards the ocean again, reaching out and taking both of their hands into theirs. "So we agree?" **

**Zuko and Sokka looked at one another, exchanging nods then looked down at Suki. "We agree." They both said to her. **

**"Now we jump." **

**"What?!" Sokka's eyes opened wide in fear. "Its' so far down though." **

**"Its just the ocean, no big deal." Zuko looked over at Sokka with a daring grin. "You're not scared, are you?" **

**"Not if you guys aren't." **

**"Then we go." She ran forward and towards the edge of the cliff, pulling them both along. Both them them ran with her towards the edge of the cliff. **

**When they got the the edge of the cliff, Suki pulled her hands away from both of them and jumped off the cliff. Zuko and Sokka followed and they all hovered in mid air for a fraction of a second before hurtling to the sea below. Suki and Sokka both laughed, a large smile spread over Zuko's face. **

"Kya don't do that!" Katara ran after the little girl, trying to get her to stop fiddling with something that belonged to Uncle Sokka.

"She is fine." Zuko told his friend softly, he had locked away the liquor and already made sure that there was nothing that the little girl could get into.

"Did you see the state of this place!? Sokka needs to hire another house cleaner. The dishes are not even done correctly."

Zuko rolled his eyes, "I will agree with that."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Be nice Katara." Aang walked into the apartment, much to Kya's enjoyment. She jumped up and down and ran to him. "Is mommy being mean to Zuko?" He leaned down and picked her up, tickling her.

"I never said anything about him!" Katara was cleaning in the kitchen, doing the dishes that Zuko had already done.

"What happened to the door?" Aang asked Zuko.

"Its how I got in."

"I'm assuming he is alive."

Zuko nodded, motioning to the bedroom door. "Suki is talking to-" He looked back to see her walking out of the door, "Oh, there you are."

"Are things ok?" Aang asked her.

Suki nodded with her hand on her stomach, "I think so, yes." She smiled a little bit at the both of them. She stood by Zuko and he wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her as she stood next to her. "I was thinking we could all go out tonight to celebrate; our treat." She took her hand and intertwined her fingers with his hand that was resting on her hip.

Zuko nodded, looking at his tall friend, "We figured it would be nice."

"I will never turn down a free meal from the two of you." Aang joked, Kya dangling upside down in his arms.

"I was going to make something here." Katara looked at them with a frown, peeking her head out of the kitchen. "I brought food."

"Leave it for Sokka, if the Fire Lord and Lady are paying we can't say no."

Katara sighed, "Well alright. But no Fire Nation food, I can't stand that spicy stuff!" She went back into the kitchen.

"This coming from the person who things that sea prunes are good." Zuko rolled his eyes with a smile as Suki laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

"SEA PRUNES ARE DELICIOUS!"

"How about sashimi?"

Suki shook her head, frowning harshly, "Can't stand the smell of fish anymore."

"I know of this great palace near by that serves Earth Kingdom food. That way everyone can get what they want." Aang suggested.

Zuko looked at Suki, "Will that be ok with you?"

She nodded, "As long as there is no fish and or sea prunes."

"I don't know what either of you are talking about, they are the best thing ever." Katara walked out of the kitchen and took Kya from Aang, making her giggle. "Should we wait for Sokka?"

"You guys go ahead, we will wait for him." Suki opened her eyes, smiling at Kya who's eyes were on her large stomach.

"Why don't you stop by and pull Toph away from work, she may want to come." Zuko suggested.

Aang agreed, looking at his wife, "We can do that."

Aang gave Zuko directions to the place as Katara got Kya ready to go, making sure that she had not let anything behind. Suki sat down on the sofa, running her fingers over her stomach with her head leaned back. After they had both gone Zuko got Suki a cup of water, handing it to her as he sat on the low table in front of her.

"Katara gave me some medicine that I could try to relieve the sickness and get my energy back up."

He nodded, smiling at her as he reached out and touched her leg softly, "Hopefully it will help."

She nodded in agreement, her hands going on top of him. "Hopefully."

He could see the worry in her eyes, in her face. No matter what they had tried, she was always so weak, so sick. Today was a good day, the color in her face was evident of this. More days than not though her eyes looked sunken in, her face pale. He had heard her crying in pain and frustration a few times, only when she did not know he was listening.

"Have you talked to Katara about staying here?"

She shook her head, "I told you before; I don't want to impose."

"I doubt she will think of it like that."

"I know she will not, but I will."

"I just want you to be here in case anything happens. I trust her more than I do the healers at the palace."

"As do I."

"Then I fail to see the problem."

She sighed in annoyance, her hand squeezing his.

"You should listen to him." Zuko and Suki both turned to the bedroom door, Sokka walking out of it as he spoke to her. "Katara will make sure things are ok." He came to them, sitting next to Zuko on the table. "Unless there is a reason you don't want to stay."

"I don't wanna be that far from home for that long." As she said this she squeezed Zuko's hand. It was not home that she wanted to be far away from, but him.

"I can move my work here." He assured her. "We could get an apartment; make it a second home. We are here enough we might as well."

"There are some open units here, I could talk to the land lady if you would like." Sokka laughed a little bit, "I don't think she would mind having the Fire Lord and Lady staying in her building."

Zuko smiled, glancing over at him before looking back to her. "See, Sokka thinks its a good idea too."

She narrowed her eyes at Sokka, making him smile. "I will talk to her about it."

"Great!" Sokka grinned happily.

Zuko picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. "I feel better already." He stood and helped her do the same, her using his shoulders to steady herself.

"Well that makes one of us." She rolled her eyes lightly and looked at Sokka, "I'm gonna blame you for this."

"I'm ok with that." Sokka stood with a smile on his face.

"Come on, we're gonna get something to eat. The rest of them are gonna meet us there."

"Alright. But before we go..." Sokka looked at them both. "I wanna do something." He held out his hands to the both of them. Suki took it right away, knowing what he was doing. Zuko hesitated, looking at his hand then back up at him.

Suki nudged him a little bit, smiling as she did so.

He rolled his eyes and took Sokka's hand into his. They stood together, hands connected.

"Lets make an agreement." Sokka started.

"This shit again?"

"Shut up." Suki told her husband, pulling on his hand gently.

Sokka laughed, "Lets agree that we will always be friends. The four of us." he motioned to Suki's stomach as he said this.

Suki smiled at him, "You already have my answer."

"Mine too." Zuko smiled a little bit as he said this.

"And I want you both to know..." He looked between the both of them, trying to relay what he had been practicing in the bedroom. "That its my greatest joy to know that you both not only found happiness, but that you found it with one another."

"You mean that?" Zuko looked at him with a stern glaze.

Sokka nodded, squeezing his hand.

**"Damn it Suki, another one?" **

**"YES!" **

**Zuko rolled his eyes as he looked back down at the paper work in his hands that he should be doing. He had only been here for 3 hours posing for these things. He was not even sure that they would work, that it would matter at all that he had spent all that time motionless in front of a black box. She kept telling him that these were for prosperity, that people for the rest of history would see these images. **

**"Do you want me to do a handstand this time?" **

**"No, and stop being a jerk." **

**"I'm not being a jerk, I just have things to do." **

**"They can wait." Her voice was firm when she said this, a sign that the argument was ending. He smirked to himself, thinking about how she would take out her annoyances on him later when it was just two two of them in their quarters. She always fell for it. **

**Suki smiled to herself as well, her back to him so he could not see. He always thought he was so damn sneaky. **

**"We are waiting on Sokka anyways." **

**"So he gets to be in the picture now?" **

**"Yes, I want one of the two of you." **

**"Do you think future generations will want to see that?" **

**She turned back to him with a smile, "No, this one is for me." **

**"So you want a photograph of Sokka and I for your self." He raised an eye brow, "Whatever suits your fancy." **

**"She just wants some new eye candy. I mean she looks at you all day and she needs to break it up." Sokka came in the green house turned photo studio with a smile. "Six month of marriage and she is already tired of you, figures." **

**Zuko frowned slightly, blushing a little bit. **

**Suki narrowed her eyes at Sokka, "That is not it." **

**"Then what is it?" Zuko asked, his voice revealing the slightest bit of hurt. **

**"Because I want to always remember how handsome you both are." **

**"Did you hear that Zuko, your wife thinks you're handsome." He laughed a little bit and nudged him in the arm playfully. **

**Zuko smiled at her then looked away, a blush creeping over his face. "Well lets do this." **

**Suki smiled and ushered them both onto the platform, positioning them so they were standing next to one another, their shoulders a foot apart. "Now cross your arms, Zuko." She took the paper out of his hand and crossed them, him smiling at her a little bit. **

**"What do you want me to do?" Sokka asked. **

**"Whatever you like." **

**Sokka nodded and put on hand on his hip, his other hand reaching out and resting on Zuko's shoulder. "How is this?" **

**She grinned happily, "PERFECT!" **

**"How long do we have to stand here?" Sokka asked her. **

**"Not long. They just have to take a few of them." **

**"Ready!" Suki was standing next to the photographer who was behind his wood box, her smile wide as she looked at them both, her hands gathered and over her heart. **

**Zuko gave the woodbox a soft smirk, a slight tilt to his head. Sokka's smiled as wide as he could looking at the place that the photographer had told him to. **

**There were three pictures taken, each photo taking only a few seconds to creature the exposure. "All done." The photographer smiled at them both, "Thank you both so much." **

**They both nodded at him in thanks as he reloaded more film. **

**"Are we done?" Zuko asked his wife. **

**"Yes." She sighed a little bit, "I wanted to get some more things done but if you don't wanna do anymore thats fine." **

**Zuko looked at her with a frown, biting his lip a little bit. **

**"I'm down for more, aren't you?" Sokka looked over at Zuko, a soft smile on his face. **

**"I am if you want to." He looked at Suki with a comforting smile. **

**She smiled a little bit, walking to the platform with them and taking Zuko's hand into hers. "I would like that." **

**"See, Issue solved!" Sokka smiled at both of them, reaching out and putting his hands on both their shoulders. "We get more pictures taken."**

**"Yeah." Zuko told Sokka while looking at Suki. "One of the three of us?" **

**Suki nodded, "I would love that." **

Sokka stood in the alley behind the restaurant, a long brown cigarette in his mouth and his head leaning back on the tall stone wall. He sighed heavily as he took it out of his mouth, blowing smoke into the air above him.

"I should quit." He said to himself, closing his eyes.

"You've been telling yourself that for 6 years." Toph growled as she walked up to him standing alone.

He smiled to himself without opening his eyes, "You want one?"

"Yes." She reached into his pocket and pulled out the tin that he kept them in.

"You should quit too." He finally opened his eyes and looked at her, his heart melting a little bit when he saw her. Her hair was down, the tips of her ebony hair falling above her hips. She was out of her work uniform and armor, and in a simple green tunic and blank pants.

He give him goose bumps to see her looking so beautiful.

"I don't mind smoking." Toph shrugged with a smile as she lit the cigarette with a lighter from her pocket. "It helps me think." Her eyes were forward, their mint green irises empty. He could tell from the orientation of her head that he was looking at him, "So... are things ok with you now?"

He looked at her with a smile, "Yeah. I'm ok."

"Good, I would not want to have you being all mopey all the time. Its not flattering." She took a drag of her cigarette with a smile on her face.

They both stood silently in the alley as they smoked, neither of them saying anything for a little bit. He could not take his eyes off her, he had never been able to. Even when he was with Suki one eye was always on Toph.

"Oh..." He pulled out of his thoughts and looked at her. "Zuko told me that you had something to tell me."

"He did?"

"Yeah, something about me."

She put her cigarette out on the ground, stomping on it to put of the flame, "I'm not really sure. You know how he sometimes makes things up."

Sokka just smiled a little bit as he put out his own cigarette, "I guess so." He looked at her fair skin, her black hair framing her strong face. "I'm happy to see you, Toph."

"You too, Snoozles." She laughed a little bit.

"No... I mean I'm really happy to see you." He walked to her and placed one of his hands on the side of her cheek, holding it softly. Her felt her face heat up under his hand, a blush creeping across her face.

"Sokka..."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to her in a soft kiss. It was far from their first kiss; but there was something massively different about this one. He felt her breath hitch, her face getting reader. He pulled away with a smile on his face. "See, happy to see you."

She laughed a little bit, looking forward with her blank eyes. "You are an idiot." She reached out and punched his arm playfully, making him laugh softly.

"Why am I an idiot?" He laughed as his hands went to her arm, holding it softly so she could not get away.

She did not fight against him, but just stood there, her empty eyes looking forward and a smile on her face. "You just are." She leaned in to him again, signaling that she wanted another kiss from him.

Sokka leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead, making her frown a little bit.

"I'm sorry, Toph." He was speaking into her skin, his hands on her upper arms. "Its been a rough day."

She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I can make it a good night, if you wish."

He laughed softly, his arms snaking around her waist "I may take you up on that offer."

They stood together in the alley for little while in one another's arms. He silently thought about the events of the day; about all the yelling, the heartbreak, the tears. He thought about Zuko's eyes, Suki's stomach, Toph's lips and how they all fit into his life. He could not help but smile, but laugh a little bit.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

He just shook his head, "Its nothing."

She pulled away from a smile, walking to the back door of the restaurant. "Come on, I'm hungry." He watched her pause briefly in the door way, looking in his direction with her blank eyes. "Well?"

"I'm right behind you." He told her.

She nodded and disappeared into the restaurant. The very next thing that was heard was Suki, Zuko, Aang and Katara shouting their happy greetings at Toph's entrance.

Sokka stretched his arms above his head, his back creaking as he did so. He rolled his neck as he lowered his arms; a large smile spreading across his face. His hand went to his chin rubbing his beard a little bit.

"At least I'm better looking than Zuko." He said to himself with a smirk before disappearing into the restaurant, leaving the alley empty.


End file.
